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In September 1861 Ulysses S. Grant was appointed Brigadier General of Volunteers by President Abraham Lincoln. Grant directed Sherman to drive through the South while he himself, with the Army of the Potomac, pinned down Gen. Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia. On April 9, 1865,

On February 16, 1862, General Buckner surrendered Fort Donelson. The unconditional surrender created jubilation throughout the North and shock in Dixie. It was the North’s first major victory of the Civil War, opening the way into the very heart of the Confederacy.

Cesar Estrada Chavez, the founder of the United Farm Workers of America, is one of the most recognized Latino civil rights leaders in the United States. A Mexican American born in Yuma, Arizona, his family lost their small farm in the Great Depression (1930s). Like many Americans, they joine

This one-cent piece from 1974 is perfectly normal-except for one thing. It was struck in aluminum rather than bronze. Lincoln's bust graces the obverse, just as it has done for over ninety-five years.
And the Lincoln Memorial appears on the reverse, just as it has since the closing years o

This flag belonged to the 84th Regiment of Infantry, United States Colored Troops. The red stripes bear the regiment's name and number and some of the battles in which the 84th fought.
The unit was organized April 4, 1864 and mustered for service on March 14, 1866. The unit fought

The United States National 34-Star flag was adopted with the admission of Kansas as the 34th state in January 1861. It was used until 1863 when West Virginia became a state. At no time did the national flag lose stars.

In 1848, the largest single gold rush in history was just getting under way in California. The event triggered a mass migration of fortune hunters from around the world. The territory has only recently passed into American hands as an outcome of U.S. victory in the Mexican War.

By the time they broke with England, the thirteen American colonies had been issuing paper currency for nearly a century. Both they and the loose central government they set up under the Articles of Confederation to oversee matters of common concern would continue to do so throughout the War of I

The sheer size of the California gold strike altered the nature of American numismatics. It was not only that mintage figures dramatically increased; the actual range of denominations increased as well. Prior to 1849, there had been three gold coins: the quarter eagle, half eagle, and eagle

Japanese Americans reflect on their years spent in internment camps as children or young adults. They discuss the process of being forced from their homes, and their ability to make the prisons more livable despite oppressive conditions.